Not So Foolish
by Just4FunFiction
Summary: April Fools is back once again, and Luan is looking to make the holiday as special as always, but will a certain brother being down in the dumps change her plans? After all, don't dump it 'til you try it! (Luan Laugh) Get it? Cover art by RawToonage on DevianArt.


**(A/N: before the story starts, I want to talk about something that inspired me to come up with this. For those who don't know, Prank It Forward is an organisation that pranks people for the better, making people's dreams come true and changing their lives. I'm not affiliated, but I've seen a few of the videos, and I think it's really cool what they do, so if you're interested, be sure to look them up.**

**With that out of the way, thank you for reading, and enjoy!)**

It was March 31st in Royal Woods, and while most people were going about their business as usual, one house was quite the opposite. At 1216 Franklin Avenue, a location known as the Loud House, the residents inside were frantically running around, all except for one. Fourteen-year-old Luan Loud, the family's aspiring comedian, always took great joy in April Fools pranks, or Pranksgiving, as she lovingly referred to it. The issue was with the extent of her pranks, which ranged from booby trapping the entire house, to getting her father to buy a plot of land and set up a series of pranks in a motel. Anyone who set foot on her family's property was fair game in her mind, which had led to at least a few of her family's friends severing their ties with them, but despite her siblings and parents' request, she always dialled it up to the max.

"Oh Pranksmas Eve, Oh Pranksmas Eve, How much I love to prank you!" She sang as she rolled in her plan sheet, following it up with her unique laugh, then a happy sigh. "My favourite time of year has come round again," she said to the viewer, "and my family are just as excited. Don't believe me? Let's take a look!" She walked over to the door and pulled it open, looking out to see what kind of desperate attempts at protection they were undergoing. Sure enough, Lola and Lana were arguing over how to barricade the door, Lori was calling Bobby to tell him not to visit her, while Lisa was testing her new security system. Looking towards the stairs, she saw her next eldest sister and roommate Luna, making a beeline for their room. "How's it going, Luna? Feeling _foolish_ yet?"

"Yeah, yeah, great," she muttered, barging past. She ran in and grabbed her purple guitar, then rushed back out, leaving Luan to shrug.

"Guess I'll see what the others are doing." She left the room and walked down the hallway, just as the sole boy in the family came up the stairs. She grinned at the white haired boy. "Hey, Lincoln!" The boy looked up at her. "Hope you're as excited as I am for tomorrow! I'm just-"

"I guess," he replied with a shrug, cutting off her attempt at a pun, thus causing her to pout.

"Well, now, that's just not fair, Lincoln. I know it's not April first yet, but to cut someone off in the middle of a pun? That's pun-forgivable." She laughed in the way only she did, before adding, "Get it?"

He didn't even groan. "Sorry. Maybe we can do this later, I need to take care of something right now."

She opened her mouth to speak, but never got to before he walked down the hall to the furthest door, opening it, heading inside and closing it again without as much as a thud. The comedienne blinked, then looked at the others on the landing, who quickly dashed into their rooms, leaving Luan on her own. "Huh. That was odd. It's like he doesn't care." She shrugged, returning her smile to her face. "Oh, well! Can't wait too long, need to make sure I have everything I need for tomorrow!"

So, she spent the next couple of hours checking all of the rooms and collecting her supplies for the day that was to come. Everywhere she went, her sisters did their best to steer clear of her, so they didn't let her find out how they planned to protect themselves from her pranks. After she decided that she was ready to begin setting up the pranks, she waited in her room, watching videos online and reading the comments from her own videos, until the rest of her siblings had a private meeting. She smirked to herself, finding it funny how they thought they were being smart, when in fact they were just being obvious.

"Now, while the kiddies are asleep, Pranker Claus can leave their gifts!" She joked with a giggle, grabbing her plans and leaving her room. Walking towards the staircase, however, she noticed how Lincoln's room was the only one with the door still closed. Curious, she walked towards it, and when it was right in front of her, she lightly tapped her knuckles against it.

"It's open," she heard her brother call from inside.

Pushing open the door, she walked in and saw her brother lying on his bed, a comic book in his hands and his eyes not leaving the pages. "Hey," she greeted with a smile.

"Hey," he replied quietly.

"How come you're not with the others? I know they're all in there, trying to figure out a way to avoid getting pranked tomorrow. It's cute that they think they can outsmart me, but I know they're useless without 'the man with the plan'. I'd tell them, but Lynn would just punch me, and THAT smarts." She laughed, following it up with a "Get it", but he didn't even groan.

"I don't really care this year."

Now, while most would think Luan would be happy about this, as this would mean he wouldn't put up any resistance and would be more susceptible to pranking, her big sister instinct knew something was wrong, and she put her concern for him above all else. With a frown, she sat down at the foot of his bed. "You've been kinda quiet today. Something wrong?"

"No, just a bit tired."

"Lincoln, it's okay, you can trust me." She saw that he didn't respond, so she reached out and grabbed the comic.

"Don't-" He tried to plead, but she had already taken possession of it, and saw as something fell out of the page he was on.

"Huh? What's this?" She grabbed what appeared to be a Polaroid picture off of his leg, and when she turned it around, she smiled when she saw a picture of him and Ronnie Anne hanging out at a fountain, with what she assumed were the girl's friends from the city behind them. "Lincoln, why do you hide this picture of you and Ronnie Anne in your comic?"

His cheeks heated up a little, but he chose to look to the side. "I keep it in there to look at when I feel like… reminiscing." Luan looked away from the picture, her eyes now on Lincoln. He sat up as his gaze fell down to his hands laying in his lap. "When I brushed you off earlier, it's because I was supposed to have a video call with her, but… she never answered."

"How come?"

"I don't know, but… I'm bummed that she didn't. I was kind of looking forward to talking with her again. Like old times."

"Linc…" She placed a hand on his knee and rubbed it. "You still have feelings for her, don't you?"

"I mean… yeah, but it's more than that. I just… really miss her."

"I understand." She shuffled closer up the bed. "Come here." She extended her arms and welcomely embraced her brother, who returned it tightly. As she rubbed his back, she heard the odd sniffle from the snowy haired boy. "It's okay. Let it out, baby brother."

He let out a weak chuckle. "It's been a long time since you've called me that."

She pulled him in front of her so she could smirk at him. "Was that a laugh I heard?"

His cheeks heated up as he tried to hide his smile. "No," he shortly answered.

"Yes, it was. You're smiling, aren't you?" Try as though he might, he couldn't hold it back, which made her cheer and giggle as he became flustered. "You feeling better now, Linc?"

"I guess," he admitted. "Thanks, Luan."

"No problem. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your secret photo." She gave him a wink, which caused him to roll his eyes. "So," she stood up, "you gonna go join the others to see if you can stop me?"

He shook his head. "I think I'm gonna call it an early night."

"You sure?" He nodded. "Alright. Well, I'll tell you what- I won't make any pranks before school."

"Really?" She held her hands up to show she wasn't crossing her fingers as she nodded. "Thanks, Luan. Good night."

"Night, Lincoln." With that, she left her brother be, closing his door for him. Now that she knew where her siblings were, she returned to her room to grab some things to start setting up her pranks. "Alright, what first? Maybe I should start with the tripwire." Her thoughts as she began planning, however, were conflicted with those of her brother being down in the dumps. "Well, maybe I could… or, perhaps… no, wait. No… no…" She sat down in her chair with a thump, a frown on her face. "Why can't I figure out what to do?" Once again, the thoughts of Lincoln missing his friend/maybe-girlfriend popped into her mind. "He said he was feeling better… but I know that's only temporary. It's not like I could use my pranks to help him." Just as she said this, however, a lightbulb went off in her head. "Wait a minute." She returned to her computer and opened a new tab. Once her search results came through, her eyes lit up. "I've got it!"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the room of the two eldest siblings, the remaining Loud children were all quietly bickering amongst each other about what to do when Prankageddon came, keeping their voices down to make sure Luan didn't hear them. "Lisa, seriously! Your bunker is military grade, why can't we hunker down there?!" Luna pleaded to the scientist.

"I'm sorry, but there are a few tests that need doing down there," Lisa replied, adjusting her glasses. "Until they are complete, I must deem it unsuitable for inhabitation it any period."

"Well, we need to think of something quick," Lori pointed out. "It's almost half past eight, so mom and dad will be calling for bedtime soon. We have to come up with a plan before-" A knock on the door interrupted her as everyone shrieked out of surprise. "W-Who is it?"

"It's me! I need to talk to you!" They heard Luan call through the door.

"Go away!" Lola yelled. "It's not April yet, we won't let you prank us!"

"I'm not here to prank you, I- look, this would be a lot easier if we could talk in person. No offence to your door, but it's a bit wooden." She laughed. "Get it?" Everyone else groaned. "But, seriously, can I please come in?"

"Why should we let you?" Lucy asked. A slip of paper then slid under the door, which the goth girl then proceeded to pick up and read. "What's this?"

"That's the entire list of pranks I had planned to set up for tomorrow. Oh, wait, hang on." Another sheet of paper was slid underneath. "I forgot I had more, but that's all of them, I swear, and I haven't set up a single one yet."

"And why should we believe you?" Lynn challenged, her fist balled up and in her other palm.

"Because I have everything I would need to set up those pranks out here. Feel free to check."

Lori scoffed. "Nice try, Luan, we're not-"

"I know what you're thinking, and I promise that this isn't a trick, but what I need to speak with you about is really important. Please."

Leni, despite her naïveté, could sense the genuine tone in her voice. "Guys, she doesn't sound like she's joking," she argued.

"But, hasn't she been getting into acting since she started dating that guy?" Lana pointed out.

"While Lana is correct, I believe that my second eldest sibling is correct," Lisa argued.

Lori sighed. "Hang on, then." She opened the door while it was on the chain, looking out to see Luan with her arms by her side, next to a large crate full of an assortment of items. "Lucy, hand me the list." The goth girl obliged, giving the papers to her eldest sister, who began to read the list off one by one, looking back and forth between the papers and the crate. "That looks about right." She closed the door, removed the chain, and opened it fully. "Alright, this better be important."

"It is," the ninth grader replied as she was allowed in. She could feel the others glaring at her, except for Leni, who just smiled sweetly as always. "Okay, hear me out. Tomorrow, there's only one prank I want to do, and it's not one on either list."

"And you're telling us this… why?" Lisa asked.

"Yeah, dude, why you gonna give all your secrets away?" Luna added.

"It's because I need your help to pull it off. You see, I was in Lincoln's room earlier-"

"You think we're gonna turn our backs on our bro?!" Lynn yelled. "No way."

"That's not-"

"I think we've heard all we need to hear," Lori cut in. "Like Lynn said, we won't betray Lincoln."

"I'm not asking you-"

"Take a hike!" Lola barked at her, causing Luan's anger to rise.

"WILL YOU LET ME TALK!?" This silenced everyone, apart from her heavy, slightly shaky breathing. "I know what you think of me, but this isn't like that! I'm trying to prank him in a way that I can help him!" Many of them opened their mouths to speak, but she beat them to it. "Yes, I know that doesn't make sense when I say it like that, but hear me out. As I was saying, when I was in his room, I noticed that he wasn't himself. I pried for a little bit, and I found out that Ronnie Anne never answered his video call, and that he was really upset by it. He really misses her."

While everyone else was noticeably saddened by this, a collective "Aww" filling the room, Lisa was not amongst them for this. "While that certainly sounds innocent, who's to say this isn't a fabrication of falsehood, street name 'lie'?"

"Check your cameras if you don't believe me. We all know you still have them up." Lisa just smiled sheepishly and hid herself behind her other sisters, her face growing red. "Look, I know this isn't like me, but I really want to make Lincoln feel better, and I think I know how, but I need your help." She cupped her hands together and held them in front of her. "Please?" She looked at them, waiting for a response, and after a few moments, she was losing hope, but then she heard her older sister finally respond.

"All in favour, say aye!" Lori commanded.

"Aye!" Everyone responded, throwing their hands in the air. Seeing this, Luan smiled giddily.

"Alright, Luan, we're in. So, tell us- what's the plan?"

* * *

For the most of the day, things were quiet for Lincoln. The morning went without him being pranked, as Luan had promised him, and he went to school. While there were a couple of pranks played during the day, he was thankful that none of them were directed at him. While he knew that there would be something waiting for him when he got home, he didn't really care- he just wanted to collapse into his bed and relax for a bit.

Having not paid attention in the last few minutes of class, he was brought out of his thoughts when the final bell of the day rang. "Alright, everyone," the teacher announced. "That's all for today. Make sure to complete the reading for tomorrow's lesson. Class is dismissed."

As everyone else was quick to get out of their seats, Lincoln took his time packing his things, before getting up and making his own way out. When he headed to his locker, he saw Clyde waiting for him. "There you are," he said to the white haired boy. "If we're quick, we can get out before Luan spots us, and you can hide out at my place tonight."

"That's okay, buddy," Lincoln replied, getting what he needed from his locker. "I'm just gonna head home."

"Are you out of your mind?! You remember what today is, right?! Or did Luan change the calendars again?"

"No, I just… don't really care this year." Clyde looked even more shocked about it. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

He waved goodbye, his nearsighted friend reluctantly returning the gesture as he walked away. As soon as he was out the main entrance, he could see Vanzilla straight ahead, the rest of his sisters already inside. He knew what would happen if he didn't, so he quickly got to the van and got inside, taking the seat next to Luna. As he was fastening his seatbelt, he couldn't help but notice how his rocker sister's face was splattered with blue paint. "Umm…"

"I know, brah," she replied, her voice laced with irritation as she glared at her roommate.

"Oh, come on, Luna, don't be so blue!" She joked, following it up with her signature laugh. "Get it?"

Everyone else groaned, as per usual. "Alright, we're all here, so let's go," Lori called out, before driving out of the parking bay and onto the road. After a couple of minutes of driving, she looked in her rear view mirror. "You okay, Lincoln?"

"Huh? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Your facial demeanour illustrates mild fatigue, as accentuated by your incompletely ajar palpebrae."

He blinked, confused as always by her scientific way of describing things. "Uh…"

"She means you look tired, Stinkoln!" Lynn called out from the back. "What, Mrs Johnson's classes too boring for you again?"

"Oh. No, I'm just… guess I am a bit tired."

He let out a yawn, causing a chuckle from his fifteen-year-old sister. "Why don't you take a nap, bro? I'll wake you when we get there."

"I guess."

With another yawn, he laid his head back and shut his eyes. As he gently drifted to sleep, he was blissfully unaware of everyone else's grins. "Okay, Lori," Luan quietly told the eldest sibling, "he's out for now. Time to put the plan into action."

Lori nodded. "Okay. Everyone, make sure not to wake Lincoln." Everyone silently agreed, and with that, she continued to drive. For the next couple of hours, nobody spoke, and while Lincoln occasionally stirred, he never woke up. Even when the van pulled into park, he stayed peacefully asleep. "Alright. We're here." She turned in her seat to face a Luan. "You're up, Luan."

"Right," she replied. Pulling her bag up to her lap, she pulled out a blindfold and a pair of headphones. Handing them to Luna, the rocker put them on the sleeping boy, before undoing the seatbelt. "Okay, you can wake him now."

As everyone began to climb out of the van, Luna gently shook her brother. "We're here, bro," she told him.

"Hmm?" He groaned, gently flitting his eyes open, but was shocked to see nothing but darkness. "What's going on?"

He reached his hands up to grab at the blindfold, but Luna stopped him. "C'mon, bro, we need to get going."

She led her brother out of the car, where the other sisters were waiting, with Luan stood in front of them all. Once her brother was positioned where she needed to be, Luna joined her other sisters, while Luan removed the headphones. "Alright, Linc," she instructed, "blindfold off." He did just that, showing her his confused face. "April Fools!"

"What? What do you-" She interrupted him by stepping out of the way, allowing him to see someone he hadn't expected to, his eyes going wide. "Ronnie Anne?!"

"Hey, Lame-O," she replied. "Surprised?"

Lincoln looked around, and after first seeing that he was in front of an arcade, he was more astonished to find himself in Great Lakes City, which was where Ronnie Anne and her family moved to a while back. Looking back to his sister, he was in shock. "I don't understand! What's going on?"

"Consider this my April Fools joke this year," was her only explanation.

"Lincoln?" He turned back to Ronnie Anne, who was nervously rubbing her arm. "I'm… I'm sorry I didn't answer your video call yesterday. I would've, but my mom kinda banned my internet use for skateboarding in the house again." She closed the distance between them, leaving her just a step away. "I'll be honest, it sucked not being able to talk to you. I've… I've missed you."

He simply smiled and replied, "I've missed you too," before they shared a warm hug, both squeezing the other tightly. The Loud sisters couldn't help but "aww" at this, causing both pre-teens to blush when they let go.

"Alright, you two," Lori spoke, digging into her pocket to grab some cash. "Me and the girls are gonna go fill up on gas, and then we'll meet you in the arcade." She handed Lincoln $25. "We can only stay for about an hour before we have to start heading home, but for now, have fun."

"Thanks, Lori." He turned to Ronnie Anne once more. "Shall we?"

"Let's go, Lame-O."

And so, they began to head inside, laughing while Ronnie Anne wrapped her arm around his shoulder. The girls watched on with pleased smiles on their faces. "I'm proud of you, Luan," Lori commended. "You've really done something special here."

"Thanks, Lori," she replied. "I know I usually go all out on April Fools Day, but… this feels so much better." She then grinned cheekily. "Don't expect this every year, though."

The eldest sibling rolled her eyes. "I'm literally not surprised."

"If I might interject," Lisa spoke up, "there is something I fail to understand."

"If it's why I pranked Luna, it was to make Lincoln think I was going to prank him and the rest of you like usual."

"You could've asked me, brah!" Luna complained. "You got that stuff in my ear!"

She shrugged. "It wouldn't have been has confessing. I was trying to paint a picture for him!" She laughed, following it up with a "Get it" that was proceeded by groans.

"I understood that much," Lisa clarified. "What isn't clear is how you convinced our parental units to allow this."

The comedienne simply put on a devilish grin and explained, "I might have left some pranks in the house after all."

* * *

Back in the Loud House, Rita was just getting home from work. As she opened the front door, she saw that her husband was currently hanging upside down from his ankles, his shirt covered in honey and feathers, with a fake beak stuck over his face. His eyes widened when he saw her, but his cries were muffled by the beak. Before she could say anything, she took a step forward which triggered a trip wire. Looking up, she could do nothing but sigh as a bucket of water landed on her head with a thud, the water thoroughly soaking her. Before she could even take the bucket off, she felt the tripwire wrap itself around her ankles. Lynn could only watch as his wife was hoisted off her feet and dragged into the kitchen, and after a few could thuds, bangs and even some glass, all he heard was a near deafening cry of,

"LUAN!"

**THE END**


End file.
